The European Parliament passes a ban on selling petrol-powered cars by 2035

The European Parliament on Tuesday approved banning the sale of carbon-emitting petrol and diesel cars by 2035, removing the last legislative hurdles.

European Union countries approved the legislation and will now formally turn it into law, despite the opposition of Conservative MPs, who represent the largest bloc in parliament.

Supporters of the decision had defended it by saying that it would provide European car manufacturers with a clear timetable, according to which they would move to the production of electric cars that don’t export emissions.

This, in turn, will support the EU’s ambitious plan to achieve climate neutrality in the economy by 2050 with net zero emissions of greenhouse gases.

But opponents of the decision said that the sector isn’t ready for such a radical break in the production of cars with internal combustion engines, and that hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk.

“Our proposal is to allow the market to decide which technology is best for achieving our goals,” Jens Czeske, a member of the European Parliament from the center-right European People’s Party said.

He added that the arguments of the Greens and Socialists deputies that acquiring electric cars are less expensive have become null and void in light of the crisis of high energy costs.

“In Germany, 600,000 people work on internal combustion engine (ICE) cars and these jobs are at risk,” he said, urging the European Commission to rethink plans to extend the ban to trucks and buses.

Opponents also say that car batteries are produced abroad by European competitors such as the United States.

The European Parliament in Strasbourg approved the law with the support of 340 deputies, 279 against, and 21 abstentions.